Microsoft Will Spend $500M To Address Affordable Housing and Homelessness in the Seattle Region (geekwire.com)

Microsoft is dedicating $500 million to fund construction of affordable homes and homeless services in the Seattle region in an effort to alleviate a growing housing crisis driven by the city's tech boom. From a report: The Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant will commit $475 million for loans to affordable housing developers over three years and another $25 million to services for low-income and homeless residents. It's the largest philanthropic pledge in Microsoft's history. "This is a big problem," Microsoft President Brad Smith and Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood wrote in a blog post Wednesday. "And it's a problem that is continuing to get worse. It requires a multifaceted and sustained effort by the entire region to solve. At Microsoft, we're committed to doing our part to help kick-start new solutions to this crisis." Microsoft's announcement comes amid growing pressure on tech companies to mitigate the consequences of growth. Over the past decade, big tech companies have drawn thousands of newcomers to the Seattle tech region with lucrative tech jobs, bidding up housing costs and often squeezing out low-income neighbors.

Comments

Rates

[JBMcB]

1. The interest rates on the loans are below market, to the point that they will probably just barely make their money back if the loans are paid, depending on inflation
2. They are making loans to begin with - sometimes banks won't give out loans to develop low income housing as it's risky

Re:Have to fix the root cause

[Ichijo]

If the city stopped transferring wealth from poor, dense neighborhoods to affluent, sprawling ones, I think you would see middle-class neighborhoods asking for more density and more retail so they can get their potholes fixed.

Re:Have to fix the root cause

[WolfgangVL]

It's not JUST homelessness. That's a problem, and it's one of the worst in the country, but poor life choices do not drive the price of a 400 sq ft studio up past 1k/month.

Building more housing most definitely WILL help the root issue, providing the rich don't just buy them all up and rent them back to us at todays cost.

If the affluent want to enjoy living like royalty, then they need to ensure the servantry can afford the servants quarters.

I've been trying to buy a home in the Seattle suburbs for 2 years. Every time I find something I want and get to making an offer, I am outbid by 100k, sight unseen, with no strings attached. These are not families bidding me out, its wealthy investors.